A lot of guitars today can trace their roots back to 'radical' Gibson designs like the SG, Explorer, or Flying V. But what about the designs that didn't stand the test of time, those ones that should have been thrown out from day one? The goal of this thread is to share some of the lesser-known Gibson models and prototypes from their electric lineup. This could also be used to inspire builds in GB&C.

I'm pretty sure this is the only register of odd-ball Gibsons currently available online, so I'll try to keep the information correct as much as possible . Feel free give me suggestions for the list or point out any mistakes I've made.

1. Please don't turn this into a flame war or call a guitar 'ugly' to start fights. What one person calls hideous is beauty to someone else.
2. If you wish to contribute, post a SMALL pic and I'll add it to the list (assuming it is a Gibson guitar). I want to keep this 56k friendly
3. Everyone knows about the Reverse/Holy guitars, let's keep them out of this. Also let's keep signature guitars outta this.

Bantam (Submitted by Flying Couch)
Custom Shop model produced in the mid 90's. Available with an ebony fretboard, multi-ply binding, and Grover tuners. Basically a hollowbody Les Paul.

Blueshawk (Submitted and Owned by fender_lespaul)
Produced from 1996-2006 and a variant of the Nighthawk. Semihollow poplar body with a flat maple top, 25.5", throughbody stringing, "Noise reduction circuity" and the "Varitone circuit". The one pictured below has a Bigsby and isn't stringthru.

Corvus (Submitted by Flux'D)
Made from 1982-1984, also known as the Gibson "Can Opener". The body shape "resembles a crow in flight" and it's name means "Crow" in Latin. Available with a single humbucker, dual humbuckers, or 3 single coils. Bolt on Maple neck, Alder body.

ES-335 Solid (Submitted by necrosis1193)

Explorer 7 String (Submitted by Flux'D)
Notice how far up the bridge sits and the million frets

Les Paul Recording (Submitted by necrosis1193)
Produced in the mid 70's. Featured low-inpedance pickups and a unique cable for impedance matching to the amplifier. I'm not sure on the specifics of the cable. Some were available with a maple fretboard.

M-III (Submitted by Flux'D)
Produced 1991-1996, 25.5" scale, bolt-on maple neck with 24 frets, available in many pickup configs. A rare offbreed of this featured a thru neck. This was a USA Gibson as well.

Marauder (Submitted by Flux'D)
Made between 1974-1979, only one was shipped in 1974. Originally sold for under $400. Available in multiple body woods (Alder, Maple, Mahogany) and rosewood or maple fretboards. Bolt-on 22 fret neck, all had dot markers. All had Bill Lawrence pickups sealed in clear epoxy. Had a slanted single coil at the bridge and a humbucker at the neck.

Moderne (Submitted by Baby Joel)
Designed in 1957, unclear if any were actually produced as no authentic example has ever turned up. They were "reissued" in 1980 and later produced by Epiphone in Korea.

Nighthawk (Submitted by Pac_man0123)
1994-1998. Short-lived and an unpopular model, reissued in 2009. Had a slanted bridge humbucker to cut gain and a mini humbucker in the neck. Some had a single coil in the middle and these models also featured coil-tapping for the humbuckers. 25.5" scale length and was available with various tremolos (Bigsby, Floyds, etc) as well as stringthru.

RD (Submitted by Pac_mac0123)
Made between 1977 and 1979, later released in 2007 as a limited edition. Designed to sound brighter than existing Gibson models and had a 25.5" scale (except the '79 model, which was 24.75"). Featured state-of-the-art active circuitry designed by Bob Moog and had a maple body. Original 25.5" models are considered highly collectible.

Early SGV Design (Submitted by Flux'D)

SG250 (Submitted by Flux'D) Only produced in 1971 & 1972, other models were SG100/200

Sharkfin (Submitted by Flux'D)

Sonex (Submitted by Flying Couch)
1980-1984, was a budget model. Bodies were made from a material called "Resonwood" and was manufactured with "Multi-phonic construction". Had a bolt on neck

Spirit (Submitted by Flux'D)
1982-1986, made both by Gibson and Epiphone. Featured a flat back and top, 22 fret set neck with pearl inlay. Available with a few pickup configurations and 3 models were made: Spirit I, II, and XPL. The XPL had an Explorer headstock instead of the traditional Gibson 3x3

Super 400 (Submitted by Flux'D)
Production started in 1934 and was "the biggest, fanciest, and most expensive archtop ever built". Available with pickups on and off throughout it's production and a pickguard was optional. The full acoustic version is no longer available.

Ultratone (Submitted by necrosis1193)

Victory (Submitted by Flux'D)
Made between 1981 and 1983, a rare guitar and hard to find information on.